Neighbourhood Development Forum
| Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum |
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Volunteers
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WELCOME
to Fortune Green and West Hampstead Current news and progress The consultation period on our application to be recognised as an NDF closed on 15 March 2013, and we are now awaiting confirmation from LB Camden that they will recognise us. When that happens we hope to start a period of engagement and consultation with residents, businesses, landowners and developers and finalise our plan during the summer. What is Fortune Green and West Hampstead Neighbourhood Development Forum? We are a voluntary organisation which has been set up by amenity groups, residents' associations and individuals in West Hampstead in response to the Government's implementation of the Localism Act. The main aim of a Neighbourhood Development Forum is create a document called a Neighbourhood Development Plan. This NDP is a statutory planning document, containing planning policies relating to our area, which will influence planners and developers when making planning decisions. The area around the underground and railway stations in West Hampstead was designated an intensification area by the mayor of London in 2009 which will result in considerable development in the area. Whilst the area is surely due for renovation there many local people who are concerned that the final overall outcome will not match local aspirations. Although some development has already started, or has been approved, there is still power for local residents and businesses, through an NDP, to influence the overall final impact of the independent developments. There is also concern that smaller scale development outside the area is not always in keeping with the needs and character of the area, and here an NDF can prescribe quite closely how the area will develop in the future. What has happened so far? At the end of 2011 an initial group was set up to explore establishing an NDF. Since then there have been monthly open meetings of anyone interested where we worked on the process of setting up an NDF and discussed the major issues of planning concern. It was clear that the small group that could attend the meetings would not give us a representative view of feelings in the area so at the Jester Festival in 2011 we had a stand explaining the NDF and a display of 21 photographs of new(ish) buildings around West Hampstead. Around 120 people responded to the simple question "love it or loathe it" to tease out what West Hampstead liked and didn't like. We also ran a survey based on a questionaire which dug a bit deeper into peoples opinions of the area. We had 180 responses to that survey. (The results of the paper and on-line survey are here and the photo survey here. These results, and the results of LB Camden's "Placeshaping Plan" produced in March 2012 highlighted the important issues such as, a village feel, maintaining the integrity and identity of streets, the need for green spaces, a vibrant retail area (West End Lane). Armed with this information the group has approached LB Camden for formal recogition as the Fortune Green and West Hampstead NDF. This is part of the official process for becoming and NDF. Camden have accepted our application and is now consulting on our application. The consultation runs from 31st January to 15th March 2013. What next? First we need to be approved, so if you support the idea of an NDF, please respond to the consultation, as shown in the box at the top of this page. If we are approved as an NDF we have several years to produce a plan for our area. We have started drafting parts of a plan already so we hope to complete it within a year. Indeed to have influence over the developments in the intensification area we need to produce a plan as soon as possible. Once we have prepared a plan, after a great deal more local consultation and investigation, we submit it to LB Camden. They will then sent it to a Government planning inspector who will check that it meets planning legislation. Following that there will be a referendum at which all residents of the designated are can vote yes or no to the adoption of the plan. Site last updated 17 April 2013 | Contact us
You can contact us at ndpwesthampstead@gmail.com Future meetings NEW NDF open meeting Wednesday 22nd May at 7.30pm location tbc NEW We have uploaded a copy of our 4th draft plan.
There is a copy of the presentation made at our Engagement workshop on 15 April on our Documents page.
There are copies of the presentations made at our workshop on 13 March on our Documents page.
We also have a brief summary of what the NDF is all about available here.
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